Tag Archives: White Ibis

Please enjoy viewing Kookaburras, Tawney frog mouth, black and white pelicans, pink Galahs, cockatoos (as pests) lorikeets, white ibis, penguins,and other interesting birds. The fairy Penguins are also called Blue Penguins, and they actually have a blue look to their fur. They are the smallest penguins in the World. The Kookaburras were very exciting for me to see and hear. I heard them first, and actually recognized the “laugh”,then later saw several pairs flying around quite close to where we were in Yanchep National Park. The pink Galahs were also a delight to see, but we did get a bit tired of them as they are very noisy. I had never seen nor heard of a bird called the tawney frogmouth, so another new Australian experience. It is often mistakenly thought to be a type of owl and is found throughout Australia mainland and Tasmania. Luckily we did not meet any cassowaries in the wild, but as we walked through the rainforest we kept a look out!

Birds of Australia
A few beautiful birds we saw in Australia. More will be added soon! It seemed to me that the birds in Australia were all more beautiful than in the US. One example is the Australian Pelican, it is a beautiful black and white, not the brown that are common here. Check out my Pelican pictures, one flying, and one swimming. The Kookaburra was an especially fun bird to see and hear in the wild. At Yanchap National Park I first heard a kookaburra and even identified the “laugh”. Later in the day I was delighted to see two pair flying, laughing and landing in trees near where we were watching the kangaroos and their joeys (in and out of the Pouch)come bounding out near us.
Another interesting aspect of our Australian bird watching were the birds that the natives viewed as “Pests” The Cockatoo on Hamilton Island was a big problem to the residents, as well as the lorikeet. I enjoyed watching them, but the residents don’t. The beautiful pink Galah is a pest in some areas of Australia, and can gather in large flocks an create quite a racket.

More information from Wikipedia; “Australia and its offshore islands and territories have 898 recorded bird species as of 2014. Of the recorded birds, 165 are considered vagrant or accidental visitors, of the remainder over 45% are classified as Australian endemics: found nowhere else on earth. It has been suggested that up to 10% of Australian bird species may go extinct by the year 2100 as a result of climate change.

When we sailed up the Brisbane River into Brisbane we were met by this little group of Musicians. So nice to be welcomed!

Brisbane is a beautiful city. We journeyed by water taxi from our ship up the Brisbane River beyond the South Bank Museum area and viewed downtown, beautiful homes, recreation areas, and other interesting sites along the River. The exit from the river at the South Bank area featured a beautiful array of multicolored Bougainvillea and walk- way of tropical plants. The South Bank Park area is a beautiful in which to stroll. We visited the Aboriginal Museum and walked through the library. The buildings are open air, and very inviting. All over the city the bougainvillea were proudly displaying their many colors and in the Park they are growing in a beautiful archway. Beautiful birds could be see and heard all around. One interesting bird that we saw all over South Bank and at the Brisbane Museum trying to eat food off picnic tables is a type of Australian White Ibis, a large pest to shoo away from your picnic table.